Illinois surpasses 35,000 COVID-19 deaths: Where its mortality rate ranks nationally

COVID-19 is now responsible for the deaths of more than 35,000 Illinois residents, state public health officials reported Friday.

Illinois Department of Public Health records show the respiratory virus is responsible for the deaths of 35,011 residents, and it's believed to be the cause of 4,687 others.

There have now been 273 confirmed COVID-19 deaths for every 100,000 Illinois residents.

Nationally, the U.S. Centers for Disease Control and Prevention is reporting 1,053,173 Americans have died from COVID-19 since the outset of the pandemic in March 2020. The CDC includes probable deaths in their calculations.

Nationally, the mortality rate is 317 COVID-19 deaths for every 100,000 Americans.

Including the probable deaths, Illinois has the 20th-lowest mortality rate among the 50 states, at 313 deaths for every 100,000 residents, the CDC reports. Vermont's is lowest at 109 deaths for every 100,000 residents. Mississippi's is worst at 433 deaths for every 100,000.

IDPH officials reported 299 COVID-19 deaths in September, down 14.6% from the month before and only the fifth full month of reporting with fewer than 300 deaths since April 2020.

The state recorded 64 more COVID-19 deaths in the past week, including 24 on Wednesday alone.

Since the beginning of the pandemic, 7,241 suburban Cook County residents have died of COVID-19. DuPage County has seen 1,791 deaths from the virus, Will County 1,617, Lake County 1,470, Kane County 1,171 and McHenry County 498.

Combined, suburban residents make up 39.4% of all the state's COVID-19 deaths, while they are 45.3% of the state's total population. Chicago made up 21.6% of COVID-19 deaths and represents 21.5% of the state's population.

Another 39% of the deaths were downstate residents, where 33.2% of the state's population lives.

Vaccination rates are much higher in Chicago and the suburbs than in most other counties, according to IDPH and CDC records.

COVID-19 hospitalizations continue their decline in Illinois, with 899 patients currently being treated in hospitals, the fewest since May 11. Over the past week, hospitalizations are down nearly 16%, IDPH records show.

Of those currently hospitalized, 130 are in ICU beds, IDPH is reporting. A week ago, 147 COVID-19 patients were in intensive care.

Less than 11,000 new cases of the disease were reported to IDPH in the past week, officials noted. That's down roughly 40% from last week's tally.

Another 137,000 doses of the bivalent vaccine booster that specifically targets omicron subvariants of the virus have been administered statewide in the last week. Nearly 500,000 Illinois residents have received the new booster since it became available earlier this month, IDPH officials report.

"It is encouraging to see the large number of Illinoisans who are taking advantage of the added protection offered by the new bivalent boosters," said IDPH Director Sameer Vohra. "And while the case rate has been declining, this is not the time for anyone to let their guard down. As we head into fall and face a potential surge in new cases, I urge everyone who is eligible to contact their health care provider or local pharmacy to get the updated booster and their flu shot."